A lack of strict aerospace regulations combined with a
growing manufacturing and aerospace industry could turn the country into the
drone capital of Latin America. Mexico recently opened the first drone pilot
academy in region, and now hopes to become a global competitor in the
high-flying industry.

“We saw a wave of consumers buying drones, but they didn’t
know how to operate them,” Jose Luis Gonzalez, director of Mexico’s Drone
Academy and CEO of Unmanned Systems, told Fusion. So he opened a drone academy
in Mexico City and began offering a 9-hour course. They’ve already graduated 50
drone pilots in less than a year.

It’s part of why Mexico is fast becoming an ideal testing
ground for the development of drones, Gonzalez says.

“Mexico has low production costs and there’s skilled labor
that can turn the nation into a key player in the drone industry,” he said.
“There’s a big entrepreneurial spirit here.”

Gonzalez isn’t the only one developing the Mexican market. A
local company known as Unmanned Systems Technology International has released a
drone known as MX-1, which is being marketed as “a proudly Mexican aircraft
backed by thousands of hours of conceptualization, design, prototyping and
flight tests,” according to its website. The MX-1 drone can allegedly fly for
up to seven consecutive hours and reach a cruising speed of 68 mph. Other
companies such as 3D Robotics are also fabricating drones in Mexico.

Mexico is also finding new uses for drones, from protecting
endangered animal species to improving agricultural practices and preventing
forest fires. Earlier this month a group of researchers announced they will be
using drone photography to enhance land cultivation and fertilization
techniques.

The Mexican government is reportedly using drones to monitor
crime-ridden areas, develop naval operations, and monitor some of the country’s
state-owned oil pipelines.

There’s also been innovation by the criminal world. Some
narcos are now apparently using drones to smuggle drugs across the U.S.-Mexico
border.

And then there’s singer Enrique Iglesias foolishly cutting
his fingers while trying to grab a hovering drone during a concert in Tijuana
—an incident that fits into a category all its own.

Overall, Mexico has embraced drone technology quicker than
other countries in the region. In May many chilangos flocked to Mexico City’s
first drone expo to learn about the development and use of the so-called
multirotor drones.

The government shares the public’s enthusiasm. Last March,
Mexico’s Aerospace Navigation Service commissioned a video shot by a drone
flown over Mexico City’s airport. “It turned out wonderful. We’ve gotten rave
reviews,” air traffic controller Alejandro Ruiz de la Fuente told the Washington
Post. “We know that back in the United States it’s not allowed.”

While drones have an increasingly military connotation in
the U.S., in Mexico and many parts of Latin America drones are mostly viewed as
fun, useful and educational tools. In Peru drones are reportedly being used to
monitor archeological sites, while in Chile some universities have begun
offering courses in piloting. Brazil is using drones to help protect the
Amazon.

But drone fun is also creating new problems. Argentina’s
government recently moved to protect people’s privacy by regulating the use of
drones to prevent candid photographs and videos shot from above.

Now the U.S. could spoil some of the fun if it continues to
militarize drone use in Latin America. The United States Southern Command or
SOUTHCOM has already deployed unarmed drones on joint military exercises and
missions in Central and South America. The war on drugs also appears to be
prompting Latin America to ramp up the use of U.S.- and Israeli-manufactured
drones against traffickers.

“With regard to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), it is hard
to predict the extent to which they’ll be employed to counter transnational
organized crime in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility in the long-term,”
Southern Commander spokesman Jose Ruiz told Fusion.

Ruiz said SOUTHCOM has “been able to periodically employ” a
model known as the RQ-4 Global Hawk, but wouldn’t offer details about the
mission. “Operational security precludes us from discussing specifics, but when
utilized by SOUTHCOM to support detection and monitoring operations, the RQ-4
is configured with non-lethal, surveillance capabilities; and missions that
include time over the sovereign airspace of a partner nation are closely
coordinated with the host-nation government through the U.S. embassy before
being approved and scheduled.”

Alejandro Sanchez, a drone expert at the Council of
Hemispheric Affairs, told Fusion there have been occasions when unarmed U.S.
drones have entered Mexican airspace. “A U.S. drone helped triangulate the
cellular network of drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, pinpointing his
whereabouts for Mexican authorities,” he said.

So far, no U.S. drones flown over Latin American airspace
have been known to be weaponized. But experts say it might be only a matter of
time before there are armed drones circling the region.

Sanchez says based on the U.S. experience, Latin American
militaries are realizing drones can change the tide of war. He thinks the lack
of technological know-how might be the only binding constraint preventing Latin
American countries from developing their own weaponized drones. “I think
security forces in Latin America see drones favorably,” he said.

The U.S. recently passed legislation allowing the sale of
armed drones to ally nations. And Sanchez thinks Mexico and Colombia could be
the first countries in line to buy them.

Israel is also a major player in the drone industry. A 2014
report by COHA says Israel is the main provider of drones to Latin America,
selling “some $500 million worth of drone technology to Latin American clients
between 2005 and 2012.”

“I think in Mexico and most of Latin America they are viewed
as toys,” Sanchez said. “But there will be a point when we we’ll have to talk
about privacy laws, drones flying in airports and residential areas. They are
devices that can be used by reputable agencies, but also criminals.”